In the prior art, various methods have been devised to enhance the gripping of an object, particularly towbars used in various sports. More particularly, such gripping methods have been devised for use in water sports such as of water skiing which involves a suitable tow rope with a crossbar type handle which the skier utilizes by grasping it with his hands to be pulled by the boat or in the more recent sport of wind surfing.
A common problem to water skiers, regardless to their experience, is the muscle fatigue experienced in the hands and forearm caused by the pulling forces exerted by the tow bar being transmitted through the hands and arms to the fingers and hands with the muscles of the hands and forearms being highly stressed under the pulling action involved. Further, the skier needs to tightly hang onto the towbar to prevent inadvertent release of the towbar, causing stress on the skier's hands which can be excessively fatiguing and can give rise to loss of the handle, terminating the skier's run which, depending on the circumstances, may be dangerous.
Additionally, those who ski regularly have developed callouses on their hands, caused by the glove pinching at the joint of the finger, with the problem often times so acute that taping of the hands is practiced to minimize the problem.
One particular prior art device is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,400,831 issued to Rietz. Rietz '831 is directed to a water ski glove having a palm side strapping that extends across the glove palm portion and along and between the glove-wrist portion on the palm side of the glove and the glove fingers again on the palm side. A protuberant rectilinear rib is affixed to the strapping and extends cross-ways on the strapping just below the first joint of the index finger. Also anchored to the glove's palm side strapping adjacent the wrist portion of the glove is a thrust transmitting wrist strap which has one end anchored to the glove wrist portion adjacent to the palm side such that the wrist strap may be firmly wrapped around the glove wrist portion when on the user's hand and affixed with a self-gripping or adhering fabric such as Velcro.RTM. to securely anchor the wrist strap in place. As a result, bar placement is limited to the socketing of the rib against the bar when the rib is positioned during tow-bar placement thereby providing limited flexibility in use and during release.
The skier grasps the tow rope handle in the usual manner positioning the rib in friction fit between his fingers and the tow bar. By continuing to maintain his hold, the pulling action of the tow rope applied to the towbar is transmitted to the glove through the palm side rib, palm strapping and wrist strap of the skier's gloves to his wrist and arm skeletal structure relieving tension on the muscles of the hands and forearms. Release of the indicated purchase is affected by the water skier merely straightening out his fingers to release the friction hold of the rib with the towbar.
However, the use of such a device is extremely sensitive to the amount of pressure applied such that too little pressure would cause the rod to disengage from the towbar, causing a "handle snap" where the towbar is suddenly and forcefully snatched from the skier's grasp and ending the run sometime at an awkward moment. Even in a planned release, the rib engagement has a "hang" time, i.e., a momentary pause before actual release, which may cause an upset.
In an attempt to overcome the inadvertent release problem, Rietz' 831, provides for a towbar in which a groove has been formed with the groove positioned to receive the rib when the towbar is grasped to prevent such slippage. Unfortunately, during a planed release this combination results in and even longer "hang" time. Additionally, as the rib-groove placement is rigidly fixed, tow-bar placement is lacking in flexibility.
The problem's inherent in the above-described apparatus is that the amount of pressure required to maintain the skier's grip on the towbar. In certain situations, it becomes necessary for the skier to immediately disengage from the towbar in order to prevent injury or other damage. In anticipating release, the skier may inadvertently ease the pressure on the crossbar to a degree that a "handle snap" occurs, again terminating the run. Alternatively, the skier may exert too much pressure in which case his control of handle release is not as accurate or as timely as he desires.
When the grooved handle is utilized, the time for disengagement with the tow-bar handle by the skier is increased which can result in, emergency situations, danger to the skier, loss of control, balance, and the like. This problem also carries over to the planned release of the handle as above described.